A Chinese Airline Might Start Letting Flyers Bid On Seat Upgrades

Chinese airline Cathay Pacific is considering starting an online auction program where customers could place bids to upgrade their seats, according to the South China Morning Post.

The airline believes this process would provide more affordable rates for premium economy and business class seats, allowing planes to become fully booked more frequently, the SCMP reports.

Cathay Pacific wouldn't be the first airline to test this process — several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air New Zealand, and Austrian Airlines all host upgrade auctions on certain flights, according to Telegraph Travel.

These airlines have passengers bid for seats through the website Plusgrade. JetBlue also auctioned off seats in its own eBay store as a one-time promotion back in 2008.

The process of bidding for a seat upgrade on Cathay Pacific would be simple. Customers would be invited to bid for a better seat online after purchasing their ticket. If their bid was successful, they would receive a notification approximately four days before their departure, and their offer would be collected.

Even so, many Cathay Pacific customers are complaining on Flyer Talk forum about the possibility of bidding for upgrades. "It makes the airline look cheap," said one user.

Huffington Post reports that Cathay Pacific is still looking into this project despite the negative feedback.

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